Ready or Not
by OfPearlsAndShoelaces
Summary: When Katniss goes into early labor on Christmas Eve, Peeta is nowhere to be found. Written for tumblr's PIP Holidays in Panem Challenge 2014.


**Originally written as a submission for tumblr's PIP Holidays in Panem Challenge 2014.**

**Inspired by my parents, who do actually have a Christmas Eve baby. Merry Christmas everyone!**

She was supposed to be a New Year's baby.

That was the due date- January 1st. It was what the doctor had assured them on multiple occasions, anyway. And yet, here it was Christmas Eve and Katniss was hunched over the sofa as a contraction ripped through her body. But going into early labor wasn't her only problem. Her husband was nowhere to be found.

Leave it to Peeta to do his grocery shopping at a health food store two towns away on Christmas Eve. Was organic eggnog _really_ an essential ingredient in his spiced pound cake? Katniss had tried it with regular eggnog and she honestly couldn't tell the difference. But Peeta was a perfectionist when it came to baking.

"Fuck," she hissed as the beginnings of a fresh contraction rippled through her lower back.

"Katniss, that's seven minutes," Prim warned, checking her watch. "It's time. We really need to get you to the hospital."

"No," she gritted through her teeth. The pain was too consuming to say anything more. But she was fine. She had plenty of time yet.

Prim huffed exasperatedly and reached for her cellphone for the umpteenth time. Just like each call before, it rang several times, but there was no answer on the other end. At the sound of the _beep_, Prim left what must be her tenth voicemail. "I swear to god, Peeta Mellark, your wife is in labor and if you don't answer your phone, I will personally hunt you down and drag you here by your hair!" She slammed her finger on the "End Call" button and threw the phone on the couch.

"It's probably the snow, Prim. It's interfering with reception," Katniss said through panting breaths as the pain died down. The sisters glanced out the window at the mass of swirling white outside. The first snow of the season, and of course it had to be a blizzard.

"All the more reason to leave now. Who knows how long it's going to take to drive in this?" Prim tried reasoning, but Katniss shook her head again. She couldn't leave now. Peeta wasn't here. The crib wasn't set up yet, most of the gifts she'd received at her baby shower were still in the box, and Peeta hadn't even finished painting the mural in the nursery yet. Nothing was ready.

_She_ wasn't ready.

"10 minutes," said Prim. "I'm giving you ten minutes, and if Peeta doesn't call in that time, I'll wrestle you into the car myself." The look on Prim's face was shockingly stern for the relatively small girl. Katniss knew she'd make good on the threat, too. She prayed that Peeta would call.

XXXXX

Two towns over, Peeta waded through the sea of people doing their last- minute Christmas shopping. He had the eggnog he needed, but he figured while he was here he should pick up a few other things. The whole pregnancy had been rough on Katniss and she deserved some of her favorite cheese buns on Christmas. Should he get cheddar? Provolone? Or maybe he should go the mozzarella route. Three. Definitely all three.

By the time he made it through the line to the checkout, he'd been in the store for over an hour. He was loading groceries into the car when his phone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out to see… 23 missed calls?!

"Shit!" Peeta clicked on the most recent voicemail. Prim's hysterical voice was on the other end. When he heard the words _"Katniss is in labor," _the carton of eggnog slipped from his grasp and split open when it hit the concrete, spilling over his shoes. "Fuck!" The mother shepherding her kids into the minivan next to him shot him a dirty look for the profanity. He sent her an apologetic glance, almost missing the last few seconds of Prim's message.

"…on our way to Capitol hospital. Please, _please_ call me back." Shaking the sticky mess off his shoes, Peeta climbed into the car and sped out of the parking lot. There was no way in hell he was missing the birth of his child over some stupid organic eggnog.

"Prim, slow down!" The roads were slicker than ever with the increasing snowstorm. There was hardly ten feet of visibility in front of them. They'd seen at least three cars skid off the road by this point, and yet, Prim was still pushing the normal speed limit of 45 miles per hour.

"Katniss, unless you want to have this baby in the back of the car, shut up and let me drive!" A contraction hit her just then, forcing Katniss to obey Prim's orders. The pain was so much that she couldn't even appreciate the bizarre role- reversal that had happened between the two sisters in the past few hours. Prim, the younger of the two, was now the one giving orders and taking charge. For once, Katniss was letting her do it.

"_Shit_. They're getting stronger," she moaned.

"I know they are, just hang in there," Prim said, extending a hand to rub her sister's back. "We'll be there soon. Take deep breaths and try to breathe through them."

"I think you chose the right field to go into, Prim," Katniss panted when the contraction had passed. Prim smiled. Her obstetrics residency was scheduled to begin in the new year. "Do you think he's coming?" Katniss whispered, almost to herself.

Prim hesitated. "He still hasn't called, but if I know Peeta, he's killing himself to be there for you and the baby. He'll be there. Let's just focus on getting you there in one piece, okay?"

XXXXX

Peeta slammed his hand on the horn. "Move!" he yelled, fully aware that the person in the car in front of him had no chance of hearing him. Not that the little old lady could hear anyway. True, the roads were shit, but that didn't mean grandma couldn't speed it up a little. He tried, yet again, to call Prim and Katniss to no avail. Both of their cells kept going straight to voicemail. He supposed it must be the storm knocking out cell towers. He punched the horn again in frustration.

Throwing caution to the wind, he swerved around the old lady and gunned it. Almost immediately, one of his tires hit a particularly slippery patch and he skidded down the road for several heart- stopping seconds before he could gain back control the vehicle. His heart pounded wildly, pumping a hearty dose of relief through his veins.

_Calm down._ He told himself. _Deep breaths_. It would do no good to land himself in the hospital when he should be there for Katniss right now. At least she was with Prim. Prim knew what she was doing. She'd take care of her older sister. Still, it was killing him not knowing anything. How far apart were the contractions? Had the girls reached the hospital yet? Were they okay or were they stuck in the blizzard?

The endless list of questions circled his brain, playing on a torturous loop, the most troubling of which he could not bear voice out loud: _What if I don't make it there in time?_

XXXXX

"No, I don't want anymore ice chips!" Katniss bellowed at the nurse. "What I want is for my husband to be here!" Prim glanced apologetically at the nurse, a kindly older woman who really had done nothing wrong to deserve being yelled at, but the woman only shrugged, as if to say _I get that all the time._

Dr. Aurelius, the obstetrician, entered the room at that moment for a check in. "Well, Mrs. Mellark, you're about 8 centimeters dilated," he said after a thorough examination. "This one's going fast. At this rate, your daughter will be here within an hour or two."

Katniss's mouth went bone dry. _No_. This wasn't supposed to happen. First births were supposed to take hours to progress. Days, even. Not like this.

"I can't do it," she said, burying her face in her hands. "I can't."

"Katniss, I understand that it's a very stressful situation, but panicking will only make it worse for you and the-"

"I can't!" she cried, cutting off the doctor.

Prim's cell phone rang, startling everyone in the room. She nearly dropped it when she saw who the caller was. "It's Peeta!"

"You're really not supposed to use phones in he-" the nurse started to say, but Prim shot her an icy look and answered it anyway. "Peeta? Yes, yes, we're at the hospital… she's right here…. Don't worry, they're both fine… of course, here you go."

Prim handed the phone to Katniss, eyes sparkling with relief. "He's on his way now. He wants to talk to you."

Katniss clutched the phone like it was her life's breath. Like it was Peeta himself and she would never let him go. "Peeta?"

"Katniss!" his voice flooded her ear and it was like a soothing balm; just being able to hear him calmed her nerves. He was talking a million miles a minute, but she wasn't taking in the words. "What did you say?"

"I said I'm on my way, alright, just hang in there. I'm still a ways out, but I'm going as fast as I can. I-" His voice cut off. "…roads so bad… can… hear me… love you." The call ended. Peeta was gone.

An hour ticked by. Then another. Still no Peeta. The contractions were stronger and more excruciating than ever. With each progressive one Katniss felt as though she were being split into two. Everyone said childbirth was the most pain a person could experience, but she hadn't believed them until now. By the time she succumbed to the agony and requested the epidural, it was too late. The baby was coming.

Dr. Aurelius began prepping for the delivery. He gave her a lot of instructions, but Katniss did not hear most of it. Peeta's voice was the only one in her head. It would have to be enough to give her strength. He wasn't going to make it.

Prim took her place on one side of the bed. She stroked her sister's forehead, damp with sweat. "It's going to be okay, Katniss. You can do this."

The doctor seated himself at the end of the bed. "Alright, Katniss. On the next contraction, you're going to bear down and start pushing."

_No_. Just a little longer. She couldn't do this without him…

Suddenly the door burst open and Peeta tumbled through, his cheeks and nose pink with cold and his tousled blond curls filled with snowflakes that had not yet had the chance to melt. "Katniss!" Ignoring every other person in the room, he rushed to her side and held her face between his wind- chapped hands.

Peeta's abrupt appearance was enough for Katniss to forget everything else. Her panic left her in an instant and the pain dulled into the background. Her world narrowed down to him, golden and warm and perfect. "I didn't think you'd come," she breathed.

"I'm so sorry," he said, brushing flyaway stands of hair from her sweaty face. "I can't believe I almost missed it. I'm never leaving you again, I promise."

"It's okay," she said. "We waited for you."

Peeta grinned, clutching her hand tightly in his. "We're going to have a Christmas baby," he whispered, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Christmas Eve," she corrected him.

He chuckled. "I can't believe she's so early. I was going to finish the mural in the nursery tonight. It was going to be your Christmas gift."

"I think this is a better present," Katniss said.

"Mrs. Mellark?" Dr. Aurelius interrupted the moment. "I'm sorry, but it's really time for you to start pushing. Mr. Mellark, why don't you take that side and brace her foot?"

Peeta looked back down at Katniss in the hospital bed, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "You ready for this?"

She took a deep breath. The tightening in her abdomen was beginning her again, the pain of it taking her breath away. Her brief respite from the contractions was over. It was time. But Peeta was here, and that was all she needed. They would figure everything else out later.

"I'm ready."

**Reviews make lovely Christmas gifts. Come stalk me on tumblr: everlarkstoastbabies**

**xoxo**


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